


A Day in the Sun

by Metals



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Barely Lewd, Current One-Shot, Desmond and Molly, F/M, Giraffe - Freeform, Humor, Ice Cream, Interspecies Relationship(s), Other Animals - Freeform, Romantic Fluff, jaguar - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 07:02:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6744235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metals/pseuds/Metals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young architect, loving husband, and jaguar Desmond Gilberto decides to surprise his lovely giraffe traffic-officer wife Molly with a trip to an amusement park, but things turn sour as the day progresses. He soon finds himself struggling to salvage his romantic gesture in the face of mounting disappointments, discrimination, and tribulations. Can his hopeful holiday be salvaged? </p><p>I restrained myself this time, there's still some suggestiveness and sensuality, but they're a married couple anyway. Mature rating just for safety, and also some language and those aforementioned suggestive themes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Day in the Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chumpyuno](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Chumpyuno).



> Written for an admired artist and his OC couple I couldn't help but adore known as Chumpyuno, and for a nearby garbage bin.

Desmond’s claws drummed excitedly against the underside of the wheel as he held the _‘Seat Up’_ button with his tail, eying the beautiful blue sky for any sign of rain. He wanted everything to go just right for this Friday, and just like in planning a building, foundations were key. Wallet, tickets, new furcut, morning cup of coffee, map of the park and information sheet; all accounted for! Now he just had to wait for the final addition of his lovely wife, just now making her way from the house. Dez couldn’t suppress his smile as she made her way to the car, her simple charcoal and white striped blouse and jean shorts just serving to accentuate her long limbs and elegant gait. She oftentimes made him wish he’d taken up sculpting when he glimpsed her in stages of Constrapposto, still and dynamic at the same time with her lithe movements and graceful strides.

The snap of the car door brought him back to reality, and quickly he realized the car smelled amazingly sweet with just a hint of flour. He looked up at her admiringly, her horns mere inches away from the roof of the car. “Wow, you smell amazing today babe! New perfume?”

“Nope.” Shaking her head, she pulled out a bag and Desmond gasped with delight. “Butterscotch and Chocolate chip cookies. Want one? I made them especially for today.” He grabbed a cookie and bit into it, the saturating sweet flavor he chased with a quick sip of bitter coffee that lead to a beautiful contrast.

“ _Exquisite_!” Desmond mumbled through another bite of cookie, spraying some crumbs across the interior of the vehicle. “Oops. Sorry Molly, I’ll vacuum that up, promise. But now, for the big reveal…” He fumbled in his pockets a moment before proudly presenting her two tickets to the nearby Zooniversal Studios Amusement Park (slightly wrinkled now from his bungled retrieval) which she gleefully took in her hooves. “I remembered how you told me that you never had been to an amusement park, and I thought that was just totally crazy! So since both of us had today off and all…”

“Dez!” He was silenced by a swift but tender kiss on the cheek from Molly that made his heart swell in his chest. “This is amazing, you know my Mom was always paranoid that I’d be too tall for one of the rides and hit my head.”

"My mom just hated the rides in general." He laughed, taking another big swig of coffee. “But we’ll exercise our best judgement. I used to love this place when I was younger, a total coaster-head; admittedly, they were the kids ones, but still! It’s always a rush.” His hand shook as he took another sip, and Molly wondered which cup he was on by now. Considering it was noon, maybe his fifth. Either way, it always warmed her heart to seem him this excited, his enthusiasm always was contagious enough to buoy her mood.

Finally releasing the button raising his seat, (his old car having been much too small for accommodating them both and inspiring them to invest in a niftily modified giraffe vehicle) Desmond gamely peered through the windshield and placed a foot to the extended pedal to begin the trip. Molly nodded attentively as her jaguar beau loosed the buttons on his jacket; he was already talking a mile a minute about all the things he remembered liking best about the park as a little cub.

“Oh _man_ , they make this Woolen Candy that’s just out of this world! And they have neat games to play, I used to be so good at the ball-lob, I could get all three bricks almost every time; and there’s the Skycars too, for those of us accustomed to living life at lower altitudes.” He said with a wink, and earning a little chuff with one of her cloven hooves before she clicked them together happily.

“Well you’ve definitely sold me on it. Speaking of, congrats on the Mr. Big contract! I hear he’s a very wealthy individual…”

Her voice trailed off, and Dez flicked her nose with his tail. “And? You can’t only give me half the details here, spill the beans!”

“I dunno, I’m just kind of nervous about some of the things I hear from the upper officers. I worry about you.” They reached a stop light, and he looked into a slightly watery pair of eyes. “They say he’s untouchable. He might even have an in at ZPD somewhere.”

Dez laughed, and nudged her shoulder. “Good thing I have one of my own!” She still seemed clouded in thought, and he twirled a claw through her silky smooth mane. “And babe, I know I’m a goof; and a little selfish. But I’m good at my job, and I trust Mr. Big as a man of his word, as evidenced by the nice advance I received for showing the prototype of his daughter’s new abode! Hence the surprise trip; and the assurance that if anything ever felt wrong to me in the crime novel I'm living, you’d be the first person I’d come to, my leggy blonde bombshell cop.”

“Aw, Desmond." She gave an embarrassed snort. "You’re terrible. But I’m so glad you they liked the mock-up! You’ve been working on that for weeks now, what pulled it together?”

Dez looked pointedly at her. “A muse to rival the nine of Doesia, my dear. Slender but lengthened forms to lend a sense of space including a few mirrors for added effect and because who doesn’t enjoy a little narcissism now and again?” He tickled one of the spots on her neck with a claw. “Plus a soft brown and saffron color scheme for those earthy shrew-tunnel tones that I admit may have been lifted from elsewhere.”

“So you turned me into a house?” Molly mockingly played the offended party, hoof to her mouth.

“A _gorgeous_ one!” Desmond replied. “I can’t help it; when you’re gone all day placing tickets and walking the beat, my thoughts turn to you more often than not. You’re not the only one to worry Molly.” He put a paw on her thigh, and she clasped it tenderly.

The car was silent for a moment but for the hum of the engine as they continued onward to the park before Dez polished off the last half of his coffee and wiped his muzzle. He allowed himself another uncertain smile. “So hey, let’s enjoy this right! Sheesh, it’s our day off after all, we can’t be moping about damned city politics when we have a day of fun still ahead!”

 

~

 

Molly was excited, and nervous, and most of all glad this park was designed with all animals in mind; as a small trolley of mice and voles flew past towards the water park, she looked around appreciatively at the hustle and bustle of activity surrounding them, stopping her gaze on a young pair consisting of an otter girl and a younger looking male wolf with a knowing coy smile. The smile quickly dropped from her face however, as she watched the wolf’s ears flatten while a nearby pack pointed a paw at him. They muttered amongst themselves before cajoling a bearded goat officer into stepping over to talk to them. Instinctively, she stepped a little closer to a clueless Dez, who was staring at the distant Roar-o-Coaster with wide eyes.

“Hey love, I’ll race ya to the coaster!” Before she could respond he took off like a shot, tail wriggling like a rope in a paint-can shaker.

“Desmond, no! You’ll start a stampede, and I’m _not_ going to be the one to ticket you for it!” She rolled her eyes before allowing herself an exasperated smirk and engaging her powerful front legs to catch up. Loping through the park, she took a quick peek around before pulling her ZPD badge out of a small coin purse she kept on her and pinning it to her chest, parting the sea of animals with ease. Up ahead she saw the spotted head of who could only be Dez, still opting to stay bipedal as he bopped his way through the crowd. Lowering her head, she charged for him; he turned around at the sound of beating hooves just in time to see Molly give him a wink before pulling ahead with an impish laugh much to his chagrin.

His eyes narrowed, and adopting the same quadruped stance as Molly he thought back to high school gym and the triple-pounce practice he never had the patience to stick with. _‘Well, you’ve already done a face-first skid once, nothing left to fear now.’_ Bounding once, his tail whirled to make rotational inertia for a strong cut left towards Molly. Impacting to the ground fore-paws first, his hind feet extended beyond him into the second spring. Heads turned as he made the final impact before pouncing upwards, the height he gained being far more than he anticipated. _‘Oh shit, too much!’_

Molly heard the crowd, but it was the faint noise from above that made her turn her head just in time to shriek at her jaguar husband before he landed on her back and almost took them both down. Skidding to a halt which nearly threw Dez free, she craned her head around and knocked him on the head with her horns.

“ _Hah… Hah…_ Hitching a ride… Is cheating… Lazy cat!” She panted, and he nuzzled her neck in response.

“Pfft, after the work I put in to get up here? Hardly, I _earned_ a coast to a victory.” The sound of a clearing throat brought both their heads around and a displeased looking goat in a park security outfit eyed them over.

“Mam, I’m going to have to ask you to control your child within the park while babysitting, or you’re going to have to leave. It’s a distraction.” Dez gaped at him with an open mouth, and Molly’s serpentine neck suddenly snapped forward, her eyes now inches from a now much more intimidated goat.

“Actually sir, excuse me, but my _husband_ and I have yet broken no park codes or rules that I am currently aware of, and as a ZPD officer who needed to pursue a potential suspect, _and_ as and avid sign reader, I note order was maintained.” She pointedly looked over at the park map, a copy of which was accompanied by the various ‘do’s and don’ts’ of the park. “And what's more, I’m taking your badge number; if I even _think_ I see you bothering another couple like us or that sweet little otter girl and that nice wolf boy again, I’m reporting you for species bias to the park and collecting statements from them for harassment.” She smiled sweetly. “Have a good day now!”

Bumping the still stunned jungle cat beside her with a hip, she led them away from the crowd that had formed to watch the drama. Things were silent between them for too long, and she craned over to kiss his cheek. “Don’t get yourself down dear, it was all in good fun; and that crank doesn’t even know you. Plus, I was the one who chose to really push it after all in the race.”

“Yeah you showoff; you still have that Zootopia PD training on me, along with something of a longer stride.” He gave her a toothy giggle, and her heart melted as his mood broke. “I really do tend to be something of a kid again when I’m in the park, ya know? I'll control myself from here on out, promise. But if he was harassing those kids like you said, we should still giving his badge number to park sec on the way out. After all, I learned from the best that it’s the legal channels which can get you the hardest. Remember that time when you gave out two tickets?” They rehashed the story, arguing over a few differing details as they took their place in in the back of the Roar-o-coaster queue.

 

~

 

The line moved slowly, and Dez skipped lightly in place as they finally neared the front. “This is gonna be so great, I used to ride this with my Dad way back when! We should be able to score some good seats at the front if we…” His voice trailed off as a sudden fork of the line occurred, and wheeling around he tapped a nearby Bobcat employee on the shoulder. “Uh, excuse me. What’s all of this?”

“New modeling.” He shrugged disinterestedly. “Built cars to specific sizes for new safety standards, so now we gotta split animals by size. You should go right, to the front of the carts, and uh…” He looked up at Molly. “Sorry miss, but next cart for creatures of your height leaves now, straight ahead.”

Desmond’s entire body slackened with defeat. “C-can’t I go on that one though? I mean, I’m sure this ride is very secure and-“

He was cut off by a bemused sigh from the guard as those in line behind them began to grumble about the hold-up. “ _Sir_ , we can do it only if you want us to put you in a booster seat, and even then I’ll have to go get my manager, and he’s out on lunch break. So, I’d say either get on the ride in the cart your size, or maybe catch something all-accommodating like the Skycars, okay?”

The Bobcat turned back to his station to apologize for the pause and continue ushering customers forward, and suddenly an influx of animals flowed forward and separated the couple towards their respective gates. Doing his best to stay upright, he jumped to catch glimpses of his wife as she stepped sullenly between a pair of noisily-talking rhinos, pulling out her phone. “Moll! I’ll look for you!”

Grimacing, he crossed his arms and waited, alone.

~

 

Stepping off the coaster, Desmond shook his head a little before regaining his balance and rushing off to the exit, where he quickly spotted Molly tapping away on her phone again. “Hey! Shit, that was a real pain in the tail back there. I hope you at least had fun on the ride, because I sure fucking didn’t.”

“I didn’t get on.” He stared blankly at her. “Oh, I’m so sorry Dezzie! I know that you wanted me to try, but it still seemed really scary and it just.... It wouldn’t be fun without you there.”

“So you just waited here, this whole time?” His ears drooped as another cart of animals screamed in the distance.

“Nope! I bought your ride picture instead.” Reaching into her pocket, she handed him a photo of himself, sullen and cross-armed next to an excitedly screaming young Fennec fox girl who was clutching his arm. Molly chuckled to herself a little before noticing Dez’s eyes sparkling and damp, and she stopped to pull him in for a tight hug. “Desmond, I am so sorry. I thought it was cute and maybe you would think it was funny!”

“It’s okay.” He squeezed back, and she relaxed knowing he couldn’t be that upset. ”I-I just… Let’s go to the Skycars or something.”

Making for the exit, they both walked in silence a while before reaching the Skycars with relative speed; the ride seemed fairly unpopular overall, and they made their way through elaborate systems of rails to queue people who seemingly never came anyway. However a little life came back into Desmond as they ambled forward, and he finally broke the silence they carried with them. “Hey, y’know it’s good to see some things don’t change. It was always me and my mom and dad who’d take this all together with no one else in the other cars, the only ride she could tolerate. Her brother forced her on the Roar-o-Coaster without telling her when she was nine, and she only stepped on another ride once and decided it wasn’t her speed either way.” He slid a claw pensively across the railing. “None but this one.”

Molly was quiet for a moment at this, then smiled. “And did your Mom find the coaster story funny later on?” He looked at her in confusion for a moment, then realization broke out across his face. “ _Mmmhm._ C’mon, I’ll race ya.” She took off with a hop over one of the railings, her long legs allowing her nimbly reach over them and she hurdled towards the ride and he sprinted after in hot pursuit.

The operator of the ride, an elderly horse, made the same altitude joke as Desmond earlier, but the grimace Molly shot him told him enough to turn and quickly pull open the door to the waiting car before returning to the panels and sending them skyward. The car swayed gently like a boat as they settled into a couple’s seat, their every motion initiating a reaction by the lowly suspended carriage. The roof was plenty tall and Molly enjoyed poking her head out into the sun as they ascended higher. “Now _this_ is a ride I like!”

“Well, I’m glad I got this right today, everything else was a bust but for the time I spent with you.” He banged his head against the seat in frustration. “I really wanted to do something special for you since you, you know, put up with me like you do.”

 _“ **Put up with you?!** ”_ Molly tapped his chest with her hoof in annoyance. “Desmond Gilberto, I am your _wife_! Were you someone I _‘put up with,’_ don’t you think I would have just walked off that day you met me in the coffee shop? I gave you a chance because you were _you_ , and I want that you in my life because I love you and I love the things you do. Now snuggle up next to me because it’s breezy up here and I’m getting chilly.”

An ear to ear smile came over his face, and he took off his jacket to spread over them as a small make-shift blanket before putting his arms around her and rubbing her fur for warmth. “Thanks babe, I'm sorry. You complete my existence, and every day I’m humbled to be your man.”

“Oh hush up you sappy cat.” He purred as he exhaled deeply into her fur, and she enjoyed the feeling of his vibrations against her ribs. “Mm, and I’m sorry today’s surprise didn’t go how you wanted it to; but I have a surprise for you as well.”

“Really?! _Hey,_ now who’s the sappy surprise prepper?” He beamed up at her. “What is it?”

“I’m driving home this time, and giving you a chance to relax.” Molly was barely able to suppress her smile as the Skycar stopped at the tip of its path and her husband attempted to hide his disappointment with her ‘surprise;’ his droopy tail against her back a dead giveaway. “Now let’s enjoy this view.”

At her side she hit a single confirmation button on her phone before sliding it into her pocket and out of sight.

~

Making their way out of the park a little early, Dez decided to stuff himself heartily with all a manner of sweets, with Molly declining to gorge herself any further than some of the (admittedly up-to-the-hype) woolen candy and a quarter of a Fair Fox Bros. Funnel Cake which he found himself unable to finish. Making their way back to the car she looked on bemused as he switched from a brisk walk to something of an amble, holding his stomach and groaning as they continued through the parking lot. “Feeling okay Dezzie?”

“Ughhhh. Maybe it is best that you drive; I think I might need a nap.” He moaned, and reaching the car he slumped against it and took a heavy breath. “Or a stomach pump.”

“Ew, don’t be gross! I saw an EMT do that once for a drunk I found passed out in a car, and I’d really still rather not think about it.” She lowered the seat from his prior set height as the overstuffed jaguar struggled to clamber in. “First option you gave me only. No exceptions.”

“Yes officer.” He yawned and a piece of leftover cake fell from his whiskers to the floor as she hopped in and they pulled their respective doors shut. “Oops. I promise I’ll vacuum that up too.” He rested his head against the window while Molly started the car, and only a few minutes after pulling away the lulling rumble of the car along with the waning light from the now setting sun combined to lull him into slumber. Setting the GPS to home and placing her phone into a cup-holder, she eyed him occasionally as she piloted her way across the nearly empty roads.

~

Desmond dreamed as they rolled onwards. He dreamed he was at work on Fru-Fru’s house, but doing it in his old architecture school studio painted in brilliant white. At the center of the room was his wife, who sat swaddled in a white sheet with her hooves upturned on her lap and one leg pointing off to the side; following it with his gaze he glimpsed a series of forked turnstiles. Suddenly they began to grow marvelously tall as he shrank down, smaller and smaller until the expanses of the room took on the dimensions of a white and empty universe except for a golden sun maned in yellow that warmed his fur with blinding radiance. Pushing off from the ground in the triple jump he used that day, he _flew_ into the sun and surrendered himself to its blissful heat. Then just as suddenly, he awoke in a vast sea of grass, with no clothes on and the sun still making him feel aglow.

Molly put the heater a little bit higher to keep him out as she pulled the car over to the up to a rest stop and slowed to an idle in an empty spot. She watched him for a moment, always enjoying how his nose and ears would twitch when he dreamed, and how he’d occasionally display a goofy grin if he enjoyed the dream. This was definitely one of those dreams, or at least earlier, and she was glad he could drop the stresses of the day for a moment, even if only from a food-induced sleep. He had tried so hard for her today, and now it was her turn to pay him back; a little sooner than he probably anticipated.

Pulling her phone up again, she rerouted away from home before pulling onto the highway and beginning a newly mapped route.

 

~

 

“Babe? Babe, wake up, we’re here.”

Desmond jumped awake as his wife gently touched his arm. “The house is almost done!” Blearily he rubbed at sleep-crusted eyes with a paw. “ _Oh_ , oh shit. Sorry hon, weird deadline dream, you know how it is.” He stumbled out of the car and found the curb always present outside their home to be now gone, and he tumbled out mistakenly and landing awkwardly on his back. Opening his eyes after taking a moment to register his fall, he found himself greeted by a starry sky ordinarily rendered unseen by the lights of Zootopia. A lit fountain burbled in front of a bulbous white mansion with columns like elephant tusks that stood starkly before it. Scrambling to his feet, he whirled around. “Wait, where are we?”

“Surprise!” She stepped out and tossed the car keys over to a valet tiger who approached in a red velvet vest as she looked up at the night with him. “Today seemed to stress you out more than you wanted, so I figured we could do something I used to do with _my_ family; admittedly the place is a little nicer now, but the view hasn’t changed at least.”

“B-but…” He walked alongside her past a beautifully kerned sign for _**‘The Glade at Jubatu’**_ and caught himself before getting lost in the design. “You have work tomorrow! And I-“

She teased the fur atop his head with her cloven hoof. “Planned on staying home again and not doing the dishes once more? Kitten, I’m now absolving us both of duties for this weekend. And I’ll have you know that you got some work done in the car as well; I heard you talking in your sleep, it seems like you really are making some progress on that house…” Now it was her turn to trail off as a blush came onto her face, and she finished in a hushed voice. "You roared in your sleep though, at the end."

Desmond suddenly remembered the way his dream melded and changed as he flew into the heat of the sun with brilliant clarity. “It started after I flew into the sun. I was, um, h-hunting you…” He clicked his claws together, and her eyes widened. He sighed and put his face in his paws once more. “…But like, it a really weird, mixed way. It all felt so _funny_ , like this hunger mixed with the feeling I get whenever you dress-down on getting home, or the first day I saw you, or… I got kind of fuzzy headed I guess. I didn't feel myself thinking.“ 

Pausing, he caught his breath. “It was this big savannah, and there was grass everywhere when I saw you. And I uh, I pounced; but the I fell against you instead, and the sudden contact felt really unusual, like I’d been crashing off too much coffee only to have that vanish. Then, this building just grew organically around me once more. The one I made thinking of you." He looked up at the night with melancholy in his eyes. "And I think, it's kind of like you civilize me; or rather, you tether me to what matters when I feel like I might lose my head. And hey Moll, I could, I'd never actually, you know...”

“Hey.” He lifted his head just as Molly craned down her neck to give him a kiss, immediately eliciting a dopey rumbling purr from him and causing a nearby concierge to stare pointedly at his reservations sheet. “Of course I know. Now let’s go inside hungry predator, I want you to meet Jack.”

“Jack?” Dez inquired flatly, and Molly rolled her eyes in bemusement and lead him inside, where a look of child-like glee came to his face as he inspected the high ceilings and natural curves of the space. The trunk-columns at the entrance a hint of the elephantine-skull-like structuring of the building’s inside, with large wings on either end like ears. Nudging him over, she brought him to a seemingly empty counter, whereupon he immediately dinged the bell for service.

“I’m here, I’m here!” After a moment of the sounds of wood screeching against the floor, a rabbit of unusually small stature (even for his species) popped up atop a bar stool and lazily leaned on the counter. “Whattaya wa- Molly! There you are, I was wondering how much overtime you were gonna make me clock.”

“Jack Rabbet.” She said, straight-faced, but Desmond couldn’t manage to hold back a snicker.

Jack tapped his foot tiredly against the stool, making it wobble. “Oh ha, ha, ha, look everybody, he gets it. My name is Jack Rabbet, I’m a Rabbit, and I’m a bellhop. It pretty much completes the rabbit pun picture as much as I can without also having five hundred kids and growing carrots for shits n’ giggles.”

“But Jack,” Molly chimed in, “You do grow carrots as a hobby.”

“ _Those_ ,” He pointed at her in accusatory fashion. “Are _flavor experiments_ and I told you this in confidence you damned tall horse!”

“So, uh.” Desmond decided to try and change the subject. “You guys know each other?”

“Oh, Jack was always here when my mom used to take me to get a pedicure, and after when she’d opt for the sauna-“

“And since my dad was the maintenance rabbit around here, I’d crawl through the vents and whisper back all the juicy parent gossip to them.” Jack finished.

“Please,” Molly’s turn to accuse. “Like you didn’t use them to perv on the unsuspecting.”

“Never said I didn’t, plus I was a kid, not an employee; it’s not like I’m roasting myself in those ducts still tryin' to glimpse some tail. ‘Sides, you gave me the idea with the genesis of your spy-games.” He shrugged, clicking a call button with a paw. “Yo, it’s Jack. Bags for Gilberto, to the suite, and toot-sweet please.”

“Ugh, yes commander.” Sounded a sullen girls voice, and a teenage sheep quickly rounded the corner with a cart containing Molly and Dez’s overnight bags, and Desmond shot his wife a quizzical look.

“Jack here was a real sweetheart and drove to get our bags; I texted as soon as we got separated in line-“

“And I, in all my chivalrous wonder did so from the kindness and compassion I have; for this guy.” He winked at Desmond while saying this, which amused Molly highly for some reason.

“You did it because now I owe you one, and because you still feel a little guilty for peeping on my mom.” She said, and he smacked his forehead with a paw.

“I am never going to share anything with you in confidence again Molly, and you know what? I’m glad I ate your ice cream while I was there. Here are your keys.” He said, giving her his most winning customer-service smile.

“Thanks,” Taking them she handed one to a stunned Desmond before quickly leading him away. “And that wasn’t my ice cream.”

Jack’s smile dropped, and he banged the desk hard enough with a fist to completely flip his bar stool over with a clatter. “Aw, hells fucking teeth!”

 

~

 

Molly was glad the ice cream issue wasn’t seeming to trouble him, but still looked thoughtful as they rode in an old mechanical elevator, the gated door rattling with each floor. A small otter operated the contraption, and gave them a cheery wave as they stepped off and towards a room marked ‘Executive Suite.’ “Enjoy your stay!”

“Thanks!” She waved as he swiped them in, and they stepped inside to marvel at their accommodations; the room itself had a soft, egg-like shape to it, with an oval skylight inlaid into the ceiling. A crescent moon and deeply purple band of stars against the sloping, creamy-colored walls and plush carpet. Soft lighting made the difference, the light bulbs holding thick and orange filaments that made the room feel as if a fire were providing the glow. To the left lay the master bathroom, containing one opulent looking tub big enough for an elephant or two with an ornate mirror behind it, reflecting them standing in frame of the door. Resting her head atop his, she felt his ears flick against her mane. “You’ve been unusually quiet. Thoughts?”

“I have the greatest wife in the world.” He tilted his head back and nipped her chin playfully. “And now, since I have no ice cream at home, I’m _very_ hungry and trying to figure out what to do about that.”

“Mm, even after all that food at the park? I’ll nourish you then, jungle cat.” Her upside-down mouth met his, and he ached with pleasure as her long and muscular tongue enveloped his own for a moment, toying with its rough surface before making one of his cheeks bulge obscenely as she explored his maw. His paws went to her flank, and she shivered at the light scratches he made against her skin. She was reaching for his shirt when a loud cough sounded from behind them, and they whirled around to see the sheep who’d brought their bags up looking absolutely mollified.

“Uh, I uh, I was j-just going to wait for a t-tip, b-buh…” Molly huffily reached into her pocket and put all of her spare change into the ewe’s hoof before quickly moving to the door.

“ _Hahsorryaboutthatyouknowit’sanhonestmistakeandthankyougoodbye!_ ” Slamming the door, she bolted it and turned only to groan as she watched Dez inspecting a silver tray topped cart next to the one, a look of glee on his face informing her the contents.

“Jack sent up ice cream!” He messily gobbed some down, and she snorted in laughter at the sticky strands already on his whiskers. “What? I’m gonna share. This time.”

“Good.” Striding over, she sat on the bed next to him and stuck her tongue into his ice cream to lap up a scoop as he feigned disgust. “What, so you’ll kiss me, but no licking the ice cream?”

“It’s more that I’m incurring losses from this gift sent from above. Or below as it were. Ooh, a note: 'Compliments and apologies to Mr. Jack Rabbet.' Sweet deal; hey, how do you know Jack by the way?” She tried to push him away as he burbled through a mouth of melted rum raisin. “C’mon, he totally comp’ped us here, this place is swank! What, did you save his life or something?”

“Sort of.” Desmond inhaled and a chunk of ice cream went into his windpipe. Coughing profusely, he tossed her a quizzical look, and she continued. “It was the third time I made him do the vent trick; he went directly over the sauna rocks while some of the savannah animals—like my mom—cranked the heat way up. Jack stopped answering me, and I had to reach my neck into the vent and pull him out with my teeth.”

A moment’s silence was puncture by a howl of laughter from Dez, and Molly took away his ice cream against a barrage of protests. “ _See?_ This is why I didn’t say anything at the desk!”

“Oh thank god you didn’t.” Tears sparkled in his eyes and he continued to chuckle. “Although you’d already said quite enough, and he didn’t seem to mind. Well, too terribly. Now, ice cream please.” Pursing her lips, she returned the dish to him and he sipped away the melted layer before pointing a loaded spoon at her. “So what, you dragged his passed out body from the vents…”

She took a thoughtful bite before speaking again. “I-I panicked a little, so I figured the best way to cool him off would be to throw him in the pool. What?!” She said to a laughing Dez, “I was nine, and worried sick about him, okay?”

“Don’t try to make me jealous, you already savaged him with your teeth.” He deadpanned.

She eyed him with some reproach. “Do you really mean that?”

“Oh him? Maybe for getting to my coffee Holstein-Daas ice cream, but for his relationship with you? Nah.” He offered her the remaining half of the ice cream, and her façade of coolness melted as she realized how much of a gesture Dez assumed this was. “If I learned anything today, it’s that I’m the luckiest jag in the world even when I feel like I’m not, because I have you always in my corner. Oh, and your list of call-innable favors.”

“Ah, so I’m being used is it?” She lay her long neck against his lap, pinning his legs to the bed. “Just here for my favors?”

“Oh you know there’s more to it than that babe.” He flashed her a toothy grin. “You’re also the snack I keep waiting around for the day all my ice cream is eaten, and I finally _snap_!” He playfully clicked his teeth at her, and she responded by picking him up under the arms and lifting him to her face this time for another kiss as his tail lashed against her in mock indignation before wrapping it softly around her neck, his paws caressing her cheeks. Keeping him aloft, she stood and hefted him towards the skylight, Dez striking the pose of a ballerina in catch and eliciting a squeak of mirth he felt in his whiskers.

“Alright, I’ve about had enough of this _dangerous predator schtick_ mister prima ballerina.” Tucking him under one arm and using her other to pin his torso to her, Molly strode purposefully for the bathroom. “And since we have tomorrow to relax, we might as well end up a bit sore.”

“Uh, just a little, right babe?” His ears alternatively raised and flattened as he struggled to move enough to discern her expression. “I’d really like to be able to walk tomorrow.”

“Are you saying you didn’t enjoy our honeymoon?” She brought her head around to meet his gaze; her eyes glittered in the light of the dim lamps, and she switched the water on with a foot as she took a seat on the edge of the tub. “Remember, I’m an officer of the law. Anything you say can and will be used against you.”

“You forgot the _‘in the court of law’_ bit there dear.” He said, his voice muffled.

“Did I?” She released him, only to give him a tap between the shoulders that had him catching himself against the wall. He peered into the mirror only to see a giddy expression on her face behind him as she stripped swiftly. “Spread ‘em.”

“Yeah yeah officer, I hear ya.” He said, sliding into the part he’d made for this particular one of their games. He probably wouldn’t walk tomorrow; perhaps, he thought, they could call a bellhop cart for transport. That was fine by him however, and he felt quite lucky to be able to share a second honeymoon with his wife as Molly kicked the bathroom door closed and clicked the lock.

 

~fin~

**Author's Note:**

> Yo, support chumpyuno, he's a great Zootopia artist who draws cute and sfw animals:  
> Zootopia Only: http://chumpyzoot.tumblr.com/  
> Other art by the man himself: http://chumpyuno.tumblr.com/
> 
> May add a future part to this someday, making it a dual story just because I find the idea of an animal spa very interesting. Thanks for reading!


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